Defence forces of the European Union


This articles outlines the defence forces of the European Union, which implement the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy in CSDP missions. There are two categories of EU multinational forces: ones that have been established intergovernmentally and made available to the CSDP through article 42.3 of the Treaty on European Union, such as the Eurocorps; and the EU Battlegroups, established at the EU level.

EU military or crisis operations

The military operations of the EU are typically named with a prefix that is either European Union Force or European Union Naval Force, depending on whether the operation is terrestrial or at sea. The suffix is typically the area in which the operation took place, e.g. European Naval Force Mediterranean. The operations therefore have unique names, although the force may also consist of permanent multinational forces such as the European Corps.

Pre-organised forces

The Helsinki Headline Goal Catalogue is a listing of rapid reaction forces composed of 60,000 troops managed by the European Union, but under control of the countries who deliver troops for it.
Forces introduced at Union level include:
The troops and equipment are drawn from the EU member states under a "lead nation". In 2004, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the plans and emphasised the value and importance of the Battlegroups in helping the UN deal with troublespots.
This section presents an incomplete list of forces and bodies established intergovernmentally amongst subsets of Member states of the European Union.
These multinational organizations may also be deployed either in a NATO environment, through the EU, acting upon the mandate of the participating countries, or acting upon the mandate of other international organisations, such as United Nations, or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Land forces:
Air forces:
Naval forces:
Multi-component: